1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in sub-floor water-control systems for receiving, channeling, collecting and expelling ground water from beneath the floor of basements or other subterranean rooms having walls and a floor. The problems caused by the invasion of ground water into basements and other structures are numerous. Generally such water seeps into basements from the walls and perimeter of the floor at the floor-wall joints, and/or through floor cracks, due to external hydrostatic pressures of water in the ground.
2. State of the Art
There are basically two known types of basement water control systems in use for perimeter-of-floor installation. According to one system, a sub-floor water conduit is installed below the floor and alongside the inside vertical wall of the footing surrounded by drainage space or gravel and open to the joint between the wall and footing. This method however requires a large amount of jackhammering, excavation and the hauling of heavy materials to and from the job, as a typical excavation for such a sub-floor system is 12"-14" wide and 10"-12" deep. This labor-intensive work increases the installation cost for such systems. Another problem with such a system, where a perforated pipe or conduit surrounded by crushed stone sits in the soil below the floor, is the infiltration of silt and soil into the stone and pipe which can clog the system and retard drainage. Additionally, a separate means must be incorporated for allowing water to run down the inside surface of the basement wall and enter the drain pipe or conduit below the floor. Various means are designed for this purpose, but they are not always used and, depending on which means is used, it can have disadvantages.
According to a known baseboard water control system, as disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,313, a plurality of weep holes are drilled into the wall, above the floor, along the area of the floor-wall joint if the walls are hollow core masonry block walls, around the inner periphery of a basement or other subterranean room, to admit any exterior groundwater accumulation as it occurs and prevent the build-up of hydrostatic pressure. A continuous, flexible, plastic, water-channelling baseboard enclosure is bonded to the surface of the floor to enclose the floor-wall joint around the inner periphery of the room, to control the ground water admitted through the weep holes or entering at the concrete wall-footing interface and channel and drain it into a collection location, such as a sump pump reservoir, from which it is pumped automatically to an exterior drain.
Such water-control systems produce excellent results but in some installations the presence and/or appearance of the above-floor baseboard enclosure is objectionable. Also their effectiveness is dependent upon the integrity of the bond between the plastic baseboard water-channeling enclosure the supporting floor. The said bond, generally by means of an epoxy resin, must provide a continuous water barrier. Otherwise water will leak out of the baseboard enclosure onto the basement floor. In some cases the concrete floor has a poor quality surface which is soft, too thin, severely cracked, etc. and is not suitable for bonding to a baseboard water control enclosure.
As discussed supra, sub-floor water control systems are known, and reference is made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,852,925; 4,590,722; 4,745,716 and 4,879,851 which disclose perimeter-of-wall water control systems in which drain tiles, drain conduits or perforated pipes are contained within a peripheral drainage ditch beneath the floor along the inside vertical wall surface of the footing. The sub-floor systems have the advantage of being concealed beneath the floor but the disadvantages of requiring substantial peripheral floor excavation to a depth below the upper surface of the wall footing and the labor-intensive requirements thereof.
The known sub-floor water control systems, as illustrated by the aforementioned patents, require substantial excavation of a drainage ditch installation since the drain tile, conduit or perforated pipe is buried usually in a gravel fill along the inside wall of the footing and below the upper surface or top of the footing. The drain tile, conduit or perforated pipe contains drain openings located well below the upper surface or top of the footing and therefore does not receive and move water to a discharge location until the water fills the drainage ditch and gravel fills so as to enter and flow through the tile, conduit or pipe. Also, the wall-draining means is separate from the conduit section and must be supported and aligned in a separate operation.
There is a need for a sub-floor water control system which is easier and less expensive to install, requires less floor excavation and gravel fill, and which receives and moves water to a discharge location immediately after entry of the water through or beneath the wall, and at a location above the footing, to reduce unnecessary labor expense to excavate lower than the top of the footing.